About Us

About Us

For boarders, Southwell School is their home away from home.

The care and needs of boarders are catered for by staff that include a Housemaster, Assistant Housemaster, 4 House Tutors, Head Chef and a team of Kitchen staff. The boarding team is managed by the Head of Boarding.

The routines of the Boarding house have been well-established over the years and cater for the students’ academic, social, physical and emotional growth and well-being. Boarders can quickly develop a sense of independence, awareness of community-living, with a desire to care for themselves and others.

Casual Boarding is available on request at the discretion of the Head of Boarding. Please contact the office for further information.

Pastoral Care

The welfare of the Boarders is a high priority at Southwell and the children have access to an extensive pastoral care network. All Boarding House staff form part of the boarding team.  This helps to create continuity for the students and means that the Boarding Staff are fully aware of the Boarders’ day to day activities.

Having qualified teachers within the Boarding House also means that the students are supported academically, particularly with regards to completing their homework.  All House Staff and the Chaplain all live within the school grounds and play an integral part in the life of the Boarding House.

Boarding Facilities

At the start of 2024 we opened the Oliver Boarding House, named after John and Sarah Oliver in recognition of their incredible contribution to Southwell Boarding. John attended Southwell, as a boarder from 1946 – 1950. John’s uncle, Mr Robert Oliver was the first Southwell student.  John’s father, uncle, son, grandchildren and many extended family have attended Southwell, many of them boarding.

There are two dorms in the Oliver Boarding House, the boys’ dorm and the girls’ dorm.

Both of these dorms are divided into smaller squad areas, with each squad being made up of four bunk beds. Squads are made up of mixed age groups, with a senior student appointed to lead their squad who assists boarding house staff with ensuring that daily routines are carried out.

There is a Head Boarder selected for the girls side of boarding and a Head Boarder selected for the boys side.  These students are also School Prefects.

The dining room is an important place for Boarders.   Primarily a room where students gather for breakfast, lunch and dinner. The dining room is a welcoming place for boarding students to socialise over meal times, share stories about their day, or talk about activities they are about to embark on.

Boarding students can pick up fresh fruit and home baking for morning/afternoon teas from the dining room.

The school has a Health Clinic on-site which is managed by a qualified Nurse when students are in the school grounds during the academic day.  The Nurse has the responsibility of dispensing medicine and admitting students to the clinic if they are unwell.  Family and caregivers of students admitted to the Centre will be contacted by the Nurse as soon as practicable.   All medication is to be held by the School Nurse and not kept with the children. Outside of the academic hours our Housemother primarily and House staff are readily on hand to care for our boarders.

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Fees Schedule 2024

Fees in Advance Discount 2024

Camp Fees 2024


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